MSNBC Roasts Johnson’s Tough Putin Talk While Blocking Ukraine Aid As World Leaders React to Navalny Death: ‘All The Power In His Hands’

MSNBC panelists roasted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for condemning Vladimir Putin over the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, yet standing idly by as Russian aggression claims tens of thousands of lives in Ukraine.

Anchor Alicia Menendez read Johnson’s statement on Navalny’s death to correspondent Julia Ioffe who was reporting from the Munich Security Council where Navalny’s death was a major talking point for world leaders.

“I want to read you part of what House Speaker Mike Johnson had to say on Navalny’s death,” Menendez began.

“Quote, ‘If confirmed,’ — this is before it was confirmed — ‘this action is emblematic of Putin’s global pattern of silencing critics and eliminating opponents out of dissent. This is the latest attempt to send a message to those working to confront Moscow’s aggression.’

“Here’s the part I really want you to react to,” Menendez said. “‘In the coming days, as international leaders are meeting in Munich, we must be clear that Putin will be met with united opposition.’

“As you pointed out on X, Julia, he acts as if he doesn’t know there is a foreign aid package before his caucus that they could push through right now.”

Ioffe responded:

Right. Or he acts like, you know, he’s just a random American Joe saying, “We gotta do something.” As opposed to the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America who has every possibility, he has all the power in his hands, he can bring this bill to a vote where it will most likely pass overwhelmingly. But he has already said many times that he wouldn’t do that. I hope this has changed that for him but we’ll see.

At the Munich conference, Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to do “everything possible” to help Ukraine “defeat the aggressor,” which includes providing additional funding for arms.

This week, the U.S. Senate easily approved a $95 billion emergency spending package that would cover Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Speaker Johnson has not committed to bringing the bill to the floor for debate “because it does not contain any immigration provisions.”

Watch the clip above via MSNBC.